Oatmeal + Dried Cranberries+ White Chocolate=Bliss

Yesterday was a very stressful day for me. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the lowest and 10, the highest, my stress level was a 10. I was so stressed out that I prayed, worked on the problem, cried and slept right after I addressed the problem. My energy was zapped and I woke up hungry.
This morning's stress level reached 5 on my stress-o-meter. Not bad. I was able to watch a movie on dvd, do the laundry, and bake some cookies.

For the longest time, I've been working on a cranberry white chocolate recipe. I love dried cranberries. I thought it would go well with white chocolate. The sweetness of the white chocolate marrying with the tangy dried cranberries. I added oatmeal to make it more chunky.

This recipe is still a work in progress. I can't believe I'm saying this but don't go loco with the white chocolate or else the chocolate will overpower the cranberries and you'll end up with very sweet cookies. Please resist the urge to double the amount of chocolate called for.

( cookie dough on a sheet pan)

(cooling the cookies on a rack)

(BLISS IN A BOTTLE)

Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cranberries and chunks of White Chocolate

2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
6 0z bag dried cranberries
2/3 cup white chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a separate bowl, sift together salt, baking soda and flour. Add oatmeal.
Add the dried ingredients to the butter mixture and beat until combined.
Add the cranberries and white chocolate chunks. Stir just until well blended. Stir with a wooden spoon. Drop by rounded spoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.

I need help with my kitchen aid ice cream maker attachment.

I can't swim. I can neither sing nor dance. I don't own a digital camera or any camera for that matter because I can't take decent photos even if my life depended on it. I'm no good at public speaking.

Knowing that I can't do any of the above mentioned stuffs don't bother me that much. What bothers me is that I can't attach the kitchen aid ice cream maker (model KICAOWH) that my uncle gave me (whoops! i meant us) to my 5 qt artisan mixer (model 5KSM150).

I can't attach the drive assembly to my mixer because of a small circular metal piece located just below the motor head and right above the area where we attach the dough hook and balloon whisk and the paddle/beater (whatever it's called).


According to Kitchenaid, the ice cream maker attachment can fit any stand mixer model. Any stand mixer except mine?????
I tried sending an email to Kitchenaid's customer service center but I can't access their website!!! Arghhhh!!!!

I don't want my dreams of making delicious, homemade ice cream melt away....
Okay now that line was cheesy!
Seriously though, I need your help beautiful people with kitchen aid mixers and ice cream maker attachments.

Our Rockwell Food Trip

Went to Manila with my sister and her T for a routine check up with our doctor but I had to spend the entire Saturday at home because of one medical procedure.

Thank heavens for Sunday. After hearing Mass with my mom, we went to Rockwell to window shop while waiting for my sisters and T. I ended up buying a shirt and a cookbook, my last for the year! accckk!!!!

Hello benefactors! I'll post my cookbook wish list later.

(Cibo, Rockwell branch)

When my sisters and T arrived at Rockwell we had lunch at Cibo, one of our favorite restaurants. Cibo serves modern italian food. Owned by Margarita Fores, Cibo is one restaurant that does not scrimp on quality and quantity. The servings are generous. The flavors clean and fresh, never muddled. I had the grilled italian sausage with yellow peppers, tomatoes and onion. It came with rice pilaf. Washed every morsel down with their red grape shake. Yummy!!!!! My mom and Gelli split a pasta al nero (pasta with squid ink), Tanya ordered linguini pescatore and her T had linguini netuno. We also had insalata di mare and pizza.

(Tans, Gelli, Mama, Moi. T took our picture. )

We were not able to take pictures of the food because it was already 1 pm and we were so hungry to even bother with the camera. But trust me when I say that the food at Cibo is excellent.

After lunch, we window shopped some more then headed to the theater to watch Angels and Demons. The movie was much better than The Da Vinci Code. Afterwards we joined the long queue at Pepper Lunch.

On the phone with dad. While waiting for the hot plates to arrive.

I love Pepper Lunch. Never mind if I'd reek of food when I leave the restaurant. I always leave busog! Check out their branch at Shangrila. They have better ventilation over there.

Beef Teriyaki

Hitokuchi cut steak

I love their beef teriyaki and the steak is yum yum especially when cooked right.
I asked their server to make sure that we were seated before they serve our food because the first time I went with my family, the food was already on the table and the meat was already well done. She didn't disappoint us this time.

Shake Shake Salad (Seaweed and Chicken)

Happy with my meal! I can't decide on spoon and fork or orange chopsticks.

(Guess whose plate this is. Hint: not mine.)

All in all, it was a wonderful Sunday. Too bad my dad wasn't there.

hungry no more!!!

YAY!!!!! THE MUNCHER IS BACK!!!!

Food for the Gods

What do you do when you have bags of walnuts and dates inside your freezer?
You go ahead and bake some "food for the gods."
For the life of me, I don't know how this moist bar got its name but this is not to be confused with ambrosia.
Anyway, last night my mom and I made some food for the gods. We chopped up dates and walnuts (i still have to buy a transformer to use my dad's cuisinart) using trusty old knives and creamed fresh butter in a bowl of an electric mixer. Then we added sugar, eggs, flour and the rest of the ingredients. Popped the pans in the oven. Et voila! Food for the gods.
I posted a recipe for food for the gods. It's not my mom's recipe but it's good nonetheless. Don't forget to sprinkle the top of the batter with brown sugar before putting it into the oven for an added crunch.

This is how it looks like straight from the oven and onto the board.
Speckled with juicy dates and crunchy walnuts.

Food for the Gods

2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped dates
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 300F. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 x 2-inch rectangular pan. Set aside.
In a bowl, cream butter. Add sugar, eggs, nuts and dates. Fold in the dry ingredients. Spread on prepared pan andsprinkle top with brown sugar. Bake for 30 to 4o minutes or until done. Cut into bars.